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PACstudio - Programming system

The central software for the PACcubes series is the graphical programming system PACstudio. With PACstudio all PACcubes Stations and PACcubes I/O modules are programmed.

In PACstudio function blocks are being connected to one another, that way a block diagram is being developed. The technical signs and symbols of the function blocks make it easy for engineers and technicians to get started with the programming software. No programming language has to be learned, as graphical programming is intuitive and easy to understand.

Function blocks are implemented on the worksheet by using drag&drop. They are connected and the finished program is then being downloaded on the controller. There, the block diagrams are translated into a machine-readable code.

Adjustable user interface

Each window can be arranged flexibly and can be adjusted with the so-called docking windows.

1 Docking window

With the docking mechanism windows can be docked to any position at the edge of the IDE. Furthermore you can combine windows to a tab group. The docking windows are moved together with the main window.

2 Free window

You can also position the windows freely and outside the main window. This function is important if you want to use two or more screens and one screen is only used as work environment.

3 Automatically hide window

By clicking on the pin symbol, you can allow the window to hide automatically, if it is not needed for the moment. As soon as you hover over the hidden window, it will be fully displayed.

Simple and flexible M-bus device implementation

For the monitoring system, an M-bus interface, which is extremely simple to use, is offered. The user places a function block on the worksheet. Following, the parameter dialog for the block is called. The dialog contains an M-bus scanner, with which all M-bus devices are read. The devices and all available data is graphically presented in the dialog. The user now selects the desired device and the data point and parametrizes the M-bus block with it. The block will now cyclically write the latest value of the data point to the output of the block. After that, the user connects the output of the block with the input of the regarding function block to further process the data. Such a block can be, for example, a block to send data to an Internet of Things instance.

User interface

1 The integrated development environment (IDE)

The software is not programmed using a textual programming language, but a graphical editor. By drawing block diagrams, a user-specific application is created. Different types of block diagrams can be drawn. Most common are continuous function charts and flow charts or page flow diagrams. You can read more about graphical programming in general in the section theoretical background.

Edit mode is the default state of the system. In this state the main editing of the project takes place. By loading and deleting libraries, defining and deleting structure blocks, implementing, deleting and connecting blocks, the structure of a project is set.

In the block diagram editor, the block diagram is drawn using the drag&drop function. Predefined function blocks are dragged from a library and dropped (positioned) on the worksheet freely. Following, the signal lines between inputs and outputs of the blocks are drawn.

Context menus are called in the worksheet or the project or library tree using the right mouse button. The containing commands refer to the object below the cursor. Using context menus makes the operation easier and quicker. Some commands, like f. e. deleting connections, can only be called in the context menu. Depending on the system state and selected object, different context menus exist.

The term blocks, includes structure and function blocks. Structure blocks are used for hierarchic structure. Function blocks, however, are used for parametrization, calling a target function or visualize values during online observation. Blocks are defined in the project or in loaded libraries.

The function block library contains all available function blocks for programming the software. There are two styles of function block libraries. One is the standard function block library, which contains the loaded function blocks in a flat and library-oriented view. The second view is the favorites function block library. Here you can hierarchically sort your function blocks according to your needs. Furthermore blocks are selected in this library and dragged on the worksheet using the drag&drop function.

Connections serve to specify the data flow or the control flow between the blocks. Data flow-oriented programming facilitates the connection of one output with one or more inputs. In case of several inputs, branches occur that are marked by nodes on the connections. On the other hand, control flow programming facilitates the connection of several outputs with one input, e.g. in case of flow charts. Such branches create subconnections which can be edited separately.

The number on the right upper corner of the block during edit mode defines, amongst others, the execution order in the target system. Blocks with a lower number are called before blocks with a higher number. The execution order can have main influence on the function of the program.

After successfully loading an application program, the system will automatically change to online observation. During online observation, visualization blocks cyclically read the connected signals and display the values in the block symbol. Some blocks with a target function show their internal switching state. In the online help of the blocks, the visualization functions are described.

9 Block diagram visualization

In the system state run mode, the worksheet becomes a visualization interface for the drawn block diagram. In this state you cannot change the block diagram. Now you can navigate in the project by a simple mouse click on a macro or program block in the project and, if necessary, implement individual parameters for the single instances of a block. Subsequently you can load the program into the controller. After loading, the IDE automatically switches into online mode. Now you can observe the status and process values online in the program.

In run mode, the project library changes into a project tree. While during drawing, which is in edit mode, only block types (classes) of macro and program block only occur once, the real hierarchies are represented in run mode. So if one macro block is used various times, you can see instances of this block in the project tree. You can navigate in the real project hierarchies over the project tree.